A train has collided with a herd of reindeer in northern Swedenleaving 48 of the animals dead, with a rancher commenting that "itwasn't pretty to see".

The horrific incident took place on Saturday near the village of
Kaitum in Sweden's Laponia region.

The reindeer tried in vain to outrun the speeding train,
according to transport officials, but instinctively ran along the
tracks and were crushed.

"If you follow a reindeer in a car, for instance, it will tend
to run in front of the car, it won't go to one side," regional
transport official in charge of maintenance, Fredrik Rosendahl,
explained to AFP. "So just imagine what happens with a train that
needs more than a kilometre to come to a stop."

A local rancher who witnessed the collision, Ingmar Blind,
commented: "It wasn't pretty to see."

Reindeer are important to the livelihood of many in remote parts
of Sweden, and while this incident was unique in terms of the
number that perished, herders have been warning of the consequences
of increased rail traffic in the region for some time.

A new high-speed train was previously compared to a meat grinder
by one herder, after it killed an estimated 200 reindeer in
2012.